


Borrowed Time (Enough to Talk)

by Nuttyasasquirrel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AND THEY WERE CELLMATES, Adora is thirsty asf, Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, Introspection, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), POV Adora (She-Ra), POV First Person, POV Glimmer (She-Ra), Season/Series 05, ish, minor one-sided adora/scorpia, scorpia is sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24114388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuttyasasquirrel/pseuds/Nuttyasasquirrel
Summary: Captured by Horde Prime, Catra and Glimmer are placed in the same cell. Unable to sleep, they “discuss” how Adora views Catra. Meanwhile, Scorpia seeks out Adora to ask an important question.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Scorpia (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Kudos: 56





	1. What am I to you?

**Author's Note:**

> Just cleaning out my old fanfic folders. Looks like I wrote this one back in January but never posted it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra asks the big question. Glimmer is an ass.

“Hey Sparkles… did Adora ever talk about me?” 

What kind of question was that? I groaned and rolled over to glance at my cellmate. 

Catra sat hunched, arms and tail wrapped protectively around herself. Sleep, it would seem, had eluded us both. 

“Why do you ask?” I shifted to take pressure off my back. The mattresses Prime supplied his “guest suites” with were a far cry from the fluffy heaven of my own. I missed Bright Moon. I missed my friends.

Catra shook her head dismissively. “Just answer. Did she?” 

I wracked my brain for a response. Had Adora ever really talked about Catra? Sure enough, she had mentioned the feline during strategy meetings, but it was always as an enemy, a foe to overcome. 

“…No, not really.” 

She looked offended. 

“Not that she didn’t mention you at all.” I quickly added. My placation did little to lighten the mood. 

I hadn’t really given the matter much thought. Yes, I’d first encountered Catra at Thaymor. Her presence was also felt whenever Adora would grow sullen and morose without cause. Those moments had become more frequent after the portal incident. However, we had never really discussed Catra. The subject had obviously been a touchy one.

“What did she say?”

What should I say? The truth? She had killed my mother... 

“Adora didn’t really talk about you except as an enemy. It was always ‘Catra might do this’ or ‘Catra might do that’ or ‘We have to stop her!’”

The words felt good — Catra’s expression, even better. 

“Oh… I see…”

A sob escaped her. The sick pleasure vanished. 

What was wrong with me? Had I become so twisted that I could take joy in the pain of another? Perhaps not... I did hesitate when Catra invited me to take revenge. My promise to Scorpia notwithstanding, I wasn’t ready to become a killer. 

That would have made me just as bad as Catra. 

Oh, who was I kidding? Of course, I was just as bad as Catra. None of this would have happened had I listened to Adora. The heart never would have activated. We wouldn’t be here.

I turned over and tried to ignore the muffled cries of my cellmate. 

Truth be told, I could sympathize a little. It wouldn’t be long before Prime discovered that something was wrong with his new weapon. Once that happened, our usefulness would expire. The odds that we would see Adora again, much less have the chance to apologize, were growing slimmer by the hour. 

We were living on borrowed time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this because I noticed how Adora NEVER truly talked about Catra AT ALL in the show. At least, not on screen. Yet, somehow, Glimmer and Bow seemed to know a little bit about her. Then I recalled how Adora mentioned Catra during the “strategy” meeting in the D&D episode. She must have shared intel on Catra at times but never really discussed her beyond that. At least, that was my impression.


	2. Where did you go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Scorpia have a little chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I actually had it in me to write a multi-chapter fic. Let me know how it turned out, especially Adora's internal dialogue. My apologies if this reads differently, but again, the first chapter was written in January. One’s writing style can change a lot in four months.
> 
> Remember:  
> Italics = internal dialogue

We were running out of time. 

I struck again, ignoring the ache in my arms. The staff had been a good choice. Every Horde cadet trained daily with this weapon, so it was easy for me to fall back into the once familiar rhythm. 

But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. 

The arrival of Horde Prime had begun a countdown. Soon, he would have control of Etheria. 

Exhaustion made my blows clumsy and weak.

We had lost Neo-Thaymor yesterday, its citizens corralled onto transports and shipped like cattle to the orbiting fleet.

I somehow managed to miss my stationary target.

So many dead. And there was still no sign of Glimmer… or Catra. 

Another miss. And another. I was such a failure. 

Sweat built upon my brow sooner than I would have liked. I hadn’t felt this tired since the sword brok-

“Hey… Adora?” 

I overextended and went sprawling headlong into first training dummy and then floor.

“Oof, that looked bad. Are you okay?”

_Fine Scorpia. Absolutely peachy._

I brought a finger to my lip. Blood. It might even require stiches if the split was deep enough. Yet another injury to add to the list. 

“So, I… uh... wanted to ask you something. Is this a good time?”

 _No._

However, my silence was answer enough.

“It’s about Catra.”

 _Oh, fuck no. Nope, nope, nope. Absolutely fucking not._ I made to leave but a firm claw gripped my forearm and held me in place. 

“Please?’

Could this girl be any more of a ladykiller? 

I gazed into Scorpia’s big pleading obsidian eyes. I liked to think that, under different circumstances, we might have been friends. She was sweet, genuine, and OH HORDAK those muscles. She could make any girl swoon. Why Catra had driven her away was beyond me. 

Now that we were on the same side, I saw no reason why I couldn’t humor Scorpia a little.

“Sure. Just let me get cleaned up first.”

She smiled and I barely managed to keep my feet under me enough to leave the training room. A quick visit to the castle doctor and a five-minute shower later we were sitting in my room. Perfuma had been kind enough to brew us some tea. I made a mental note to thank her later. 

“So, what were you asking me about?”

_Catra, you moron. Smooth, Adora. Real fucking smooth._

“It’s about Catra.” 

_Of course._

“What was she like growing up?”

That made me pause. I hadn’t considered that line of inquiry. Normally, when I talked about Catra, it was as she was to me now, an enemy. An enemy whose whereabouts after the activation of the heart and the arrival of Horde Prime remained unknown. As far as anyone knew, she had simply vanished at the same time Glimmer wa- 

_FOCUS ADORA!_

“I… uh… err…”

_Like lard. Think Adora, think!_

“I don’t know… what was she like when you were with her?”

 _Genius. Way to turn the question around._ I had aced regulations class, yet I couldn’t even focus enough to-

“Well, I guess she was always closed off and a little grumpy at times.”

That put the brakes on my runaway train of thought. Closed off? Grumpy? Yes, that description fit Catra, but she wasn’t always like that. Occasionally, she let her hair down. 

“And sometimes she got angry with me or Entrapta over little things we did wrong. She would also berate soldiers who didn’t perform and…

No, that didn’t sound at all like the Catra I knew. The one who had seemingly been replaced by the monster who kidnapped my friends, killed Angela, and ruined the lives of so many Etherians.

So that settled it. She really had changed. My Catra was gone. 

Moisture built in my eyes.

Scorpia had finished speaking. It was time for me to give my answer, ready or not. 

“…The Catra I knew was a guarded yet carefree person…” 

But maybe I had never truly known her to begin with. 

“She loved to skip training and slack off...” 

My life with Catra flashed before me. Comforting her on our shared bunk, exploring the fright zone together, making fun of Octavia. 

“Yet, she always aced every test when she bothered to show up…” 

She had always been the clever one. 

“We were unstoppable when paired together for team sparring practice.”

We had been enemies for so long… I was beginning to forget… 

“And her favorite rations were the… the…”

Fuck, I couldn’t remember. The floodgates opened. I hadn’t cried since the portal, the moment I realized my best friend was lost to me. And for all I knew, she was dead, buried beneath the rubble of the fright zone. 

“Hey, hey, hey now. Shhhhhh…” Scorpia wrapped her arms around me. Damn, she gave good hugs.

It took a few minutes for me to collect myself, but Scorpia’s warmth eased me back to composure. It reminded me of how Catra used to curl up at my feet when we slept. No substitute but comfort enough. 

I missed her so much…

“That’s how I thought of her.” I continued. “She was my best friend. We were inseparable. At least, I thought so until she destroyed Thaymor and shocked me. I don’t…”

The tears returned and I had to take a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t know if I can forgive her for all the suffering she’s caused. Did you know that she tried to kill me?”

Scorpia’s eyes widened. “No! When!?”

“It was at the Crystal Castle. Just before the attack on Bright Moon.” I explained. That day had only been the third worst in my entire life. How could I have been so stupid? I never should have trusted Light Hope. I should have seen how much pain my friend wa-

“Hmmm…” Scorpia placed a claw pensively to her chin. “Now that I think about it, she did seem a bit off…”

Oh, who the fuck was I kidding? It was over, our friendship was ove- 

“But you know what? I don’t think she was ready to give up on you. Not really.”

…  
…  
… 

_What?_

My slack-jawed expression prompted Scorpia to elaborate. “You see, during your fight in the Frozen Wastes, right after she hit you with the infected crystal, Catra got really scared when you tried to kill her.” 

…  
…  
…

_I tried to what?_

“And just after, when your friends were trying to destroy the crystal, she refused to give up, saying that we needed to go back for it. Without the crystal she couldn’t control you.”

I could feel my stomach curdle. Was this supposed to comfort me or...

“You see, right up until Shadow Weaver escaped, I think Catra still wanted you in her life. Even if it was as an enemy or a puppet.

My brain short circuited. A few seconds passed before I regained enough functionality to ask the most basic question.

“Why?”

Scorpia smiled and I knew the answer. 

“Because whether she realizes it or not, Catra loves you.” 

My cheeks turned tomato red. Fuck I hadn’t been ready for that one.

“Look, I’m not saying the bad stuff she did was okay. But we all have things we need to say to her.” 

I did… 

“Me and you especially. And we can do it together if need be.” 

_Oh my…_

“So, don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay!”

Okay? I hadn’t heard those words in a while. 

My gaze turned to the window. Beyond the curtains, Horde Prime’s fleet hung in the sky like a school of menacing fish. Although not nearly as tast-

_STOP THINKING ABOUT FOOD! ITS NOT DINNER YET!_

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder if Catra had survived. If she had, then it probably wouldn’t be long before we saw each other again. And then… then we would talk.

About everything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know this chapter originally had 1337 wordcount before editing?


End file.
